How To Reach Us

April, 2012

I've just spent the better part of a week in Boston, working at the UUA. It reminds me that we are larger than UUCA, Orange County, California, or the Pacific Southwest District. We are even larger than the US! Unitarian Universalists are all over the world. While I was in Boston, one of the people I met with talked about her trip to the Philippines to visit a partner church there. She told of visiting some 20 churches in that country. Another colleague has just returned from a trip to India, including a visit with the Unitarian colony there. Someday I'd like to join a trip to the Transylvanian Unitarian churches that we read about in our history and who continue to fight against religious persecution even today. And when I was in South Africa, 12 years ago, I had an opportunity to visit the Unitarian church in Cape Town.

Another person I met with this past week is a Navy Chaplain who will be posted to Hawaii in another year. We have several Chaplains in the military at this point, something that has never existed before. And many of you heard me ask us all to keep Reverend Seanan Holland, also a Navy Chaplain, in our prayers as he deployed to Afghanistan for 7 months last Friday. A couple of years ago I had the honor of contributing to the creation of a Unitarian Universalist book of readings that is now distributed to servicemen and women all over the world.

It is encouraging to know that our influence has spread far and wide, because I believe that our saving message is one the world needs to hear, over and over again. You and I are only a small part of that reality and although it is easy to not see beyond the boundaries of our own neighborhood, we do our faith a disservice if we fail to recognize that we are part of something much bigger. We are part of a movement that could change the world, but not without our help.

We can begin the process of claiming our larger movement by looking to our district. Our annual assembly will be held in downtown LA [at First Church] April 27 and 28. It will be a wonderful opportunity to meet UU's from all over the District. If you are interested in expanding your UU horizons, please consider attending. You can find more info about the event and register to attend by going to http://www.pswduua.org/pages/district-assembly.php